Cons of a Pleco? (help save an innocent pleco!)

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Can you convince her to get something other than a common? Get a bristle nose or something. Tell her It's still a pleco, just smaller!
 
Awe man, I didn't know she was paying for it. Hmmmm, this is kinda tough. But I agree with ^ tell her a bristle nose is the same thing, just smaller. If you already got it, then maybe don't over feed it to prevent growth spurts. And keep some open space in the tank so it can lay flat to grow a little. I would make sure she knows that you HAVE to upgrade, and pretty soon, depending on how big it is now.
 
I can't find any smaller ones around here. We can't order online, it's WAY too expensive. She is set on this, please just give me info now. I've just given up on talking her out of it, because it's impossible. Please help me with info.

In loving memory of Pansa Princess, the greatest horse who ever lived. May you rest in peace.
 
Also, tell her that the bristlenoses do a better job at cleaning for that size tank. The common will make more waste then he consumes, but the bristlenose will be fine in that size!
 
But we can't find any bristlenose.

In loving memory of Pansa Princess, the greatest horse who ever lived. May you rest in peace.
 
Don't over feed it, keep plenty of open area in the tank. And keep the water clean. Theres not much you CAN do. Not over feeding will prevent unnecessary growth, and open areas will prevent some stunting. Of course clean water conditions will help when it gets stressed.
 
I would love a bristlenose, but I just can't find them. There's one more place, but they don't always take the best care of their fish. The pleco is what were getting first though.

In loving memory of Pansa Princess, the greatest horse who ever lived. May you rest in peace.
 
Order online. Aquabid.com and liveaquaria.com are good. Or order from severum mama on here. He and Hn1 own a shop out if their garage and can get one for you easy!
 
Thanks Emi, I will try to find a bristlenose if I can. I don't know what else to do if I can't find any. I will follow your suggestions Emi, about open area and stuff.

In loving memory of Pansa Princess, the greatest horse who ever lived. May you rest in peace.
 
Like I said, I can't order online, and I would rather see the fish myself. I basically jut have to follow emi's suggestions or look desperately at the places anywhere around here.

In loving memory of Pansa Princess, the greatest horse who ever lived. May you rest in peace.
 
Your welcome Bettababe, I have a golden algae eater if you want him. It's for sale, well for free if you end up in an emergency.
 
I'm just gonna have to get either a bristenose if I'm lucky, or a common and take very good care of it. My dad says the ones they had in their tanks were very healthy but never got over six inches, and lived a good length of life. They even had a ten gallon and the pleco was fine. They had commons, so maybe I'll get lucky, and have the same outcome. The places they had weren't stunted either. This gives me a little bit more hope.

In loving memory of Pansa Princess, the greatest horse who ever lived. May you rest in peace.
 
Yeah, they really don't grow huge unless space is provided. We went to an aquarium in Tennessee and there was a common pleco that was easily 2 feet, BUT he was in a 600 gallon aquarium.
 
IF they were common plecos, and they only grew to 6", they were stunted. There is no way around the fact that you cannot responsibly keep a common pleco in a 20gal tank. They need a tank of 125+ gal.
 
Maybe they were a smaller variety of plecos. There is no way around my mom. I know they don't belong there, and I wouldn't get one if it were up to me, but she doesn't seem to grasp that it's MY aquarium. I wish I had something else to do. If I can find a bristle nose, then that would be better, but if I can't, there's nothing else I CAN do!! I'm sorry about this, but I've told my mom everything that I can possibly think of to get her to rethink. It's not happening.

I told her about stunting. She said,"sounds painful." I brought up that was what happens when a pleco is kept in a twenty five gallon, and she started to get mad about me bringing it up yet again. I may be making her sound bad, but she isn't. She's an animal lover, so I don't know why she finds this okay, but she really is a good person. She's a great woman, she just thinks this is a necessity. I don't get it, but please don't think I'm being disrespectful or that she is a horrid person. Thats not it.

I need help with lessening the stress on my future pet, that's what I'm asking for now, please help me. I already got sone great advice from Emi, but I want more too.

In loving memory of Pansa Princess, the greatest horse who ever lived. May you rest in peace.
 
There is no advice we can give you that can possibly make a 25 gallon tank acceptable for a common pleco.

You can't get a bristlenose? Look for a rubberlip or pitbull. The rubberlip especially is a very common sight at PetChains.
 
I understand and appreciate your frustration... I just don't have any more advice to give. I am not trying to be difficult, but it is what it is. There is nothing you can do except once it gets above 4" or so, get a bigger tank. I have actually seen professional fish keepers say even a 125 gal tank is not large enough to responsibly keep a common pleco. Many think they should be barred from the hobby completely...

Good luck!
 
I was looking at aqua bid I believe it was called. There were some very cheap bristle noses going for about a dollar that had only about an hour left for bids. After I get and cycle my tank, I need to show that to my mom and see what's being sold. I have one more place to look, and I can double check other places in case I missed or they got more fish. I do want the smaller kind, and am trying hard to find one.

In loving memory of Pansa Princess, the greatest horse who ever lived. May you rest in peace.
 
What state are you in? It's likely I can ship you a bristlenose via Priority for about $15 shipped.
 
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